Runaways
by Heath Wingwhit
Summary: Isabela tries to get Bethany to loosen up. Isabela x Bethany


A/N: A few people have requested I throw this story back up. I think this was a spin off of "Girls Night Out" or something like that. I initially wanted to find a way to fuse them together but I didn't find any good way of doing it. All you need know is that Isabela was (un)surprisingly flirting with Bethany in the other one? Ah, I ship these two quite a bit.

* * *

The Qunari are gargantuan. Bethany can't help marveling at their mass. Aside from the Templars no one else makes Bethany feel more uncomfortable. She wonders if it's any more wrong to feel frightened of the Qunari people than it is to be frightened of Templars. The actions of one cannot be attributed to the whole. If that were true, it would be justice to condemn her along with all other blood mages.

Bethany sighs and leans against the warehouse wall waiting for Hawke to finish her business with the Arishok. She was foolish to think that life would slow down once they got to Kirkwall. Outrunning the Blight at Lothering was only a small stepping stone compared to everything they've had to do in the meanwhile. Will it ever get any easier?

"Has anyone ever told you that you look sultry when you're pensive?"

Bethany turns her head to see Isabela take a spot beside her against the wall. Isabela adjusts the top of her boots along her shapely thighs before turning her eyes back to Bethany. Bethany can never decide on their color. Are they gold or are they brown? Sometimes they're copper. "I can't say that anyone's ever said so." She folds her arms, resting her foot behind her on the wall. "What is it with you and the Qunari, 'Bela?"

"Whatever do you mean, Sweetness?"

"Don't play coy. You aren't very good at it," she teases and is gratified to see Isabela's smile, the one of a person who has bluffed and lost. "You run away every time Hawke and I go into the Qunari compound."

"I'm not the only one running away. Why aren't you there?" She shakes her head. "It isn't running away. I really do have better things to do. The Qunari are _so _serious. They wouldn't know how to have fun if I beat them over the head with it. I don't give a damn about all that political stuff—let Hawke deal with it."

Bethany isn't convinced. "I find it hard to believe that a ship captain is just a party girl."

Isabela laughs. "At heart. And believe me, I'm ruthless. But currently I am without ship. Tragic, really. It's like having a permanent itch you can't scratch. Anyway, why aren't you with that sister of yours? I thought the two of you were attached at the hip."

"Not on Tuesdays." Bethany smiles wryly. "Hawke's taking care of something. I don't mind waiting out here for it. Anyway, she could use a break. She's a little old for babysitting and still she's saddled with it."

"She doesn't seem to mind it. The two of you are close."

Bethany nods. "Yes. But I'm too much trouble. If only she didn't have a pesky mage for a sister. She'd have a much easier time of it."

"Hawke doesn't _like _easy." She grins. "Thinks that's why she hasn't come to bed with me?"

Bethany laughs. "I can't imagine anyone could resist you." Isabela's lips tug in a slow smile. Bethany looks away from her to stare straight ahead at the massive double doors to the qunari compound. They're still sealed tightly. What is that red the qunari paint on their chests? Is it paint or blood…? She clears her throat lightly. Isabela's gaze remains on her. Bethany bows her head but says nothing.

Sailors move past them with crates. A small black dog chases its tail for several minutes, barking at Isabela and Bethany and moving on its way. "What's his problem?" Isabela asks. Bethany shrugs. "So come on, out with it. What's your problem with the Qunari? Did one of them make a pass at you? Kick your puppy? What?"

"One of them killed my best friends, back in Lothering. I don't know why. Doesn't matter why, I suppose." She tilts her head back against the sand colored wall and sighs. "His name was Sten. I thought that was his name anyway. They kept him in a cage. He wasn't there when we had to flee Lothering though. He must have escaped."

"Sorry. Was it long ago?"

"Not too long ago." She remembers how she'd stumbled, literally, on the scene. She tries to wipe the thoughts away. The doors to the compound open moments later. "There's Hawke," she says pushing away from the wall. "Thanks for the company." She doesn't look back.

* * *

"Why aren't you out with the rest of us?" Isabela slinks into the small bedroom of Gamlen's home. A solitary candle, violently flickering with the air that squeezes through the thin walls provides the only light. Isabela looks at the rough table. A book sits under one leg to keep it propped up. Bethany lies in bed with her arms crossed behind her head, one leg crossed over another. The presentation is inviting. Isabela stalks closer. "Don't tell me you're a homebody. I refuse to believe you're so boring. Even your mother and uncle are out."

"Do I need to go out every night to prove myself to you? It was a long day."

"As such you ought to seize the night and squeeze every drop of fun out of it." She rests her fingertips on the top bunk. "So you get the bottom bunk and Sis gets the top one, eh? I've got to give it to Hawke; she can even swindle family into a good deal for herself. You've got to respect that." Isabela sways for a moment before dropping deftly beside Bethany. "I've slept in more comfortable coffins," Isabela bemoans, tries to adjust herself. "How do you sleep in this wooden box?"

"Poorly." Bethany slides up, resting her weight on her elbows. "You get used to it. Back hurts a bit sometimes. Have you really slept in coffins?"

"It wasn't exactly sleeping," she laughs when she sees Bethany's face. "Let's steal a mattress and make things more comfortable for you."

"That's all right. I don't know that this worn wood could withstand any additional weight." Bethany hurries on when Isabela looks at her. She doesn't know why she's defensive. By the Maker, Isabela lives in a tavern. "It's not perfect—it's far from perfect but we've been here some time. I've become attached to it. It's just too bad about Uncle Gamlen."

"Mh. What's it like being Hawke's younger sister?"

"It's all right, I suppose. Marian's great. She's always watched over me. Things have been harder for her because of me. Things were harder for my entire family because of me. Father too, I suppose." She sighs some, turning on her side, unable to get comfortable. "After a while you get used to losing things. My friends, Father, Carver, my cousin."

"You've got an old, sad soul for such a young, pretty face. What was your brother like? Was he handsome?"

Bethany laughs. "Girls fancied him quite a bit. Carver was… I don't know, strong and impulsive. He was prone to brooding but you know, the girls liked that too. They wanted to be the ones to soothe his tender heart."

"And who soothed yours?"

"I was happy to stay alive; my heart was a liability. I cared more about the rest of me." She cocks a smile. "Love always seemed like a far away ideal. Or something I shouldn't set my heart on because. I don't know. I was never going to have time for it. Does that sound awful?"

"It sounds smart." Isabela slides to her. "Let's go out tonight," she murmurs. "You need out of this place. When was the last time you've done as you liked? You've let everyone make the decisions. Make some of your own."

"And if I choose to stay in?"

Isabela chuckles. "I'll be disappointed but I'll survive." She touches a hand to Bethany's knee and eases it upward. Bethany tenses. "I might prefer that."

"And if I told you to go?" She asks in a hoarse whisper.

"Ask me to go, Bethany." Isabela says. Bethany wraps her fingers behind Isabela's neck. There is a soft, hinting pressure. Isabela glides closer but waits. Her eyes flick down to Bethany's long legs before meeting her gaze again. There's the sound of a door being rattled open and Isabela drops her chin. "Wouldn't you know it. Just when the fun is about to begin. Later, Sweetness."

She sighs, stands and leaves.

* * *

Hawke walks into the bedroom and throws her daggers on the rickety chair beside the table. Bethany swings her legs to the side, gripping the bed frame loosely and watches her. "Is that the best place for those, Sister?"

"Probably not but we both know they're there, hm?" She ruffles her own hair and sinks into the bed next to Bethany. "I'm knackered. Why was Isabela here? Have you two been getting friendly?"

"No, we haven't."

Hawke laughs sleepily. "Don't make that face, Bethany. You can do whatever you like. I don't care. I won't tell Mother." She folds herself so she rests her head on Bethany's thigh. "I've drank too much. You ought to come out with me. Without your good influence I'm afraid I'm lost."

"You could never be lost. Not for long, anyway."

"So says the younger sister who idolizes her older sibling."

"'Idolizes'? You get cockier by the day." Bethany threads her fingers through Hawke's hair. Hawke situates herself and closes her eyes. "So you had a good time tonight?"

Hawke smiles tiredly. "I won some coin off Aveline's pal Donnic. I think she likes him. Can you believe it? She doesn't say so and she's completely professional. But a woman can tell these things." She opens her eyes to look at Bethany. "Are you sure I didn't interrupt anything with you and Isabela? You can still catch up to her you know. Or I can go and fetch her for you."

"Isabela's only fooling around."

"Sometimes it's nice to fool around, Bethany. Not everything has to be life or death. And with us it's always been life or death." She touches a hand to Bethany's face. Bethany averts her eyes. Hawke rolls away from her and pulls herself up to her bed. Bethany listens to Hawke's muffled voice from the top bunk. "I'm going to be dead as a doornail in a few minutes so do what you like. With or without me."

"I'm fine, Sister."

"Suit yourself."

* * *

"And so you make your escape." Isabela moves away from beside the door as Bethany exits Gamlen's home. She takes the stone steps down quickly and doesn't turn back. Bethany follows after her unsure of why she does so or where they go. Dogs bark in the night, cats yowl. There are clashing swords in the distance. The night is unsafe and she is unused to venturing it without Hawke.

The night is colder than she expected. Isabela walks several steps ahead of her. She is wily, moving in and out of the shadows. Several times Bethany loses her and only after having turned every which way does Isabela manifest again.

Bethany says her name but Isabela doesn't slow. They've walked half of Lowtown now. "Won't you slow down?" Bethany asks. Isabela continues as if not having heard her. "'Bela. Is this a game?"

Isabela hurried down a steep narrow flight of steps, close to the water. Bethany hastens her footsteps and only at the bottom, when she lunges forward do her fingers connect with Isabela's shoulder solidly. Bethany pushes Isabela until her back slams into the wall. She winces though Isabela laughs. She mutters an apology. "Why have you run away from me?"

"It's called foreplay. I wanted to make sure you really wanted to catch me. And so now…" She lifts her arms above her head, crossing them at the wrists, "you've caught me. I've never been seduced by a virgin."

It is strange how bright Isabela's eyes are in the darkness. They should be unreadable, a dark abyss. Bethany leans her staff against the wall. Her hands come to Isabela's wrists and draw lower until she cups her sides and then her hips. Her expression is perplexed; Isabela has an hourglass figure. She's softer than a man. Not that she's ever had much experience touching men. There must be differences. "I have no knowledge of seduction," Bethany breathes.

"I won't break. Hold me tighter." Isabela smiles when Bethany's grip firms. "Good girl."

The high walls and stairs hinder some of the wind. It smells of the sea or perhaps Isabela only smells of the ocean. Bethany buries her face in her neck. Their bodies pressed together makes her feet hot like drink. When their lips touch they both inhale as if having drawn air into their lungs for the first time. Bethany moans softly as their tongues touch and glide against one another's. What in the world is she doing? There is an ache that is awakening within her that she has never known before. It startles her.

Isabela's arms wind around her and her dexterous fingers slip into her clothing. Suddenly it's Bethany's back that's against the wall and Isabela whispers things into her ear that make her heart race and her face flush despite the biting cold of night. Bethany focuses at first on the water, how it shimmers. She doesn't immediately recognize that those sounds she hears, those she's always attributed to loose women in alleyways, are coming from her.

"It's easier to get into a Chantry Sister's clothes than it is into yours," Isabela says into her ears.

Bethany thinks of Leliana and how she's missed her. Oh, the horror, to think of her at a time like this. She purges the thought of her old friend. Isabela is a welcome, easy distraction. "That always worked in my favor before," Bethany says breathlessly before Isabela presses her mouth to hers again. There is no obstacle that can stop Isabela. The wonders she is capable of makes Bethany weak kneed. She isn't exactly sure of what she does.

Isabela guides her. "Just follow my lead, Sweetness. Just react and respond to me. Yes, right there," she breathes in a soft, yearning way, "yes, like that."


End file.
